


Comforting Hands and Words

by a_little_hazy



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: And he finally gets it, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Derealization, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Eret Needs A Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Eret Redemption (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Mentioned Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Mentioned Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo has PTSD, Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), They/Them Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), implied anxiety attacks, implied/referenced derealization
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:33:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28872369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_little_hazy/pseuds/a_little_hazy
Summary: Nobody understands. Ranboo tired to go to Phil, tired to go to Techno, but they just bristled and pushed him away. But that's kind of his fault, isn't it? It's just, nobody understands. He needs somebody to understand. So he rebuilds the community house.aka Eret and Ranboo bonding but its sad
Relationships: Eret & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 61
Kudos: 654
Collections: Ranboo Is Best Boi





	Comforting Hands and Words

**Author's Note:**

> this was meant to be fluff but here we are  
> READ TAGS FOR WARNINGS! stay safe yall ily

Ranboo took a big, shuddering breath. He had told Techno and Phil about the disk, about his memory and his blackouts, but they didn't  _ understand _ . Nobody understood; nobody looked at him and saw the pain these things brought him.  _ Nobody  _ understood.

He took a step out of the community portal. Wait. When had he left his little shack in the mountainside? When had he packed up his things and entered the Nether? He was slipping; he could feel it. Shakily, he looked to the community house. His fingers itched. With what? Regret? Longing? Ranboo buried the feeling, bunching his hands into fists.

A quick look in his bag told Ranboo that he was here to work on the community house again. Carefully, with much more delicacy than the durable map paper required, he pulled out the blueprint he made based on the section of the house preserved in Eret's museum. He began to work, building up the walls and shoving down the guilt in his throat.

Patiently, he waited for the clay to cook and lingered in the empty doorways when the rain hit. Sure, he could've just worn his armor, but it felt right, making himself a little... vulnerable for this. Putting back together the house brick by brick until the bones were repaired, and it was almost like he had never pulled the trigger at all.

Ranboo's mind slipped to the people of the SMP as he worked. Mindlessly, he thought. Dream has sounded so genuinely  _ distraught  _ at the destruction of the community house. He could've told Ranboo to destroy the house, not when he sounded so destroyed by the fact that it was gone. Ranboo had brought that pain upon him, upon L'manberg, watched it burn to the ground, and found a home with the very people who blew it up. But... he trusted too easily, didn't he? Maybe he should've kept some things to himself. Not give everyone around him a reason to keep him at arm's length.

The sound of heeled boots against the wooden path made Ranboo perk up. He thought, for a second, that maybe it was Techno. Perhaps Techno had come to tell him he wasn't worth it, that he needed to move out. That he's putting everyone in danger, and for a second, he caught a glimpse of a red cape, but... It wasn't Techno. It was Eret, who smiled kindly as they approached. Ranboo relaxed a little. Eret was one of the few people left on the server he had a vaguely positive relationship with.

"Eret... hi," Ranboo says, lifting his hand in a small wave.

"Sorry, were you expecting someone?" Eret laughed, coming to stand by Ranboo. They glanced around, looking over Ranboo's work, and he feels a little anxiety grip his heart.

"You're rebuilding the community house?" Eret asks.

"Uh... yeah. I figured if no one else was going to." Ranboo checked on his bricks smelting. "Plus, it's better than whatever path we had going through here before. It was made of like, dirt, right?"

Eret laughed, kind and genuine and true. "You're right about that."

A small silence fell over the two. The ground was still a little wet from the rain, so Ranboo was hesitant to let his tail drag on the ground despite his exhaustion. The longer Eret hung around, the more Ranboo finds himself relaxing.  _ Hadn't Eret mentioned wanting to adopt him once? _ Perhaps that was wishful thinking and his heart too quick to grasp at comfort.

"Do you want any help?" Eret asks suddenly, and Ranboo sends him a questioning look.

"You've done a great job, really. Most of what's left is the aquarium upstairs, and I figured you wouldn't want to install all that coral without your armor. I could do it for you, no problem. I've even got some spare glass."

Ranboo glanced from Eret to the stairs. He  _ was  _ contemplating how he was going to do the aquarium.

"Yeah... That'd be really helpful, actually," Ranboo says, rising from his place in front of the bottom furnace. "I have some glass smelting, but I didn't think it would be enough. Here, you-you can have it and combine it with whatever glass you have."

Eret smiles and takes the glass, promising a quick return back from their castle with extra supplies. Ranboo watches them go, ears tilting downwards a little. Despite how short the conversation was, it was casual and quick but so  _ comforting _ to Ranboo. He understood why everyone was on edge around him, he really did, and it was sort of his fault, but... Every time Techno bristles when he gets too close or Phil's wings ruffle with protectiveness. Every time their ears press back and the slightest snarl pulls at their lips when he touches something that isn't his.

Given everyone's... everything, he understood. How could he not? But it still hurt. Ranboo barely notes Eret come back, not until they placed a gentle hand on Ranboo's shoulder.

"I think your bricks are done smelting," Eret says, nothing more than a soft suggestion. Ranboo nods stiffly and pulls the bricks out, quickly crafting them into small blocks and carrying them over to the last gap in the wall yet to be filled in. The stonecutter whizzed away softly as Ranboo worked, building out a small platform to replace all the hedges and get the chiseled and polished stone in place.

It was a relief, coming back inside. He could hear Eret bustling about up above, and Ranboo decided to check out what they were up to. Ducking his head, he quickly ascended the stairs. Eret had already placed all the glass, a single chest nestles in the corner, supposedly holding the coral and spare materials. Eret tossed off their boots, cape already discarded and descended into the empty space. Quickly, they had begun filling in the aquarium, spreading out water buckets, and working the rest with the gentle push of kelp. The water was up to their thighs when they noticed Ranboo watching, giving a small wave.

"Done with the outside?" Eret called, and Ranboo nods.

Eret hums thoughtfully, pouring in another bucket and kicking up the sand around their feet. Ranboo watches the water, and again his fingers twitch. Memories of crying obsidian and Mellohi flash in his mind, but he shakes them away almost as soon as they come. Now isn't the time. ( _ Would it ever be the time? _ )

"I can help with the interior later, if you'd like," Eret suggests.

Ranboo hummus, scuffing his foot against the floor. "Sure, if it's not too much of a bother."

"None at all."

"Don't you... don't you have your museum project going on, though?"

Eret pauses, the water momentarily calming around them. "It's an on/off project. It keeps me busy when I'm bored, really."

"Oh." Ranboo chuckles, scratching at his cheek. His eyes drag back over to Eret, water now up to their chest, and his mind starts to wander.

"Hey, Eret?"

Eret hums, pausing and looking over to Ranboo.

"Why... why are you, like, buddying me up right now?"

Eret's grip on their bucket falters, nearly dropping it into the water. "I don't know what you're talking about," Eret tries to say, but their expression clearly states that they do. Even behind the sunglasses, their eyes shine uncomfortably.

"You've just suddenly decided to help me with the community house? You-you keep asking me questions and talking to me, and-" Ranboo pauses to gather his thoughts, dragging his hands down his face. "Doing stuff in water for me? Wh-please just tells me what you want. Please just drop whatever bombshell you're going to drop so I can pretend to forget one more thing,  _ please _ ."

This time Eret really does drop their bucket. They look at Ranboo, and they look so  _ hurt _ . Ranboo can't keep eye contact, looking down and curling in on himself. His tail wraps around his ankle, and he all but flinches when he hears Eret hoist themself out of the water.

Carefully, Eret walks towards Ranboo. They're reminded so hard that Ranboo is just a kid, that no one his age should have ever lived through all the things he has. They wonder who's assumed he'll forget something he hasn't. Eret reaches out but stops when they notice the water still dripping from their body. Instead, they pick up their cape, dropping it over Ranboo's shuddering shoulders.

"I don't want anything from you," they soothe, using their cape to gently cup Ranboo's face to tilt it up and wipe away forming tears. "I haven't seen you since L'manberg's destruction; I've been worried about you. I figured you could use someone to lean on, and it looks like I'm right."

Ranboo gasps for a breath he didn't know he was waiting for. He nods quickly, pressing his lips together and trying so desperately not to cry. His cheeks had burnt so much in the past weeks, please, not again today.

Ranboo thinks about how weird this probably looks. He's hunched over, trying not to cry in a vaguely rebuilt community house. Eret, soaking wet and holding Ranboo through their cape. It must certainly be a sight. It makes him laugh a little, actually, and he rubs at his eyes and gives Eret a wet, half-hearted smile.

Eret gives a small smile of their own, glancing to the half-filled aquarium.

"I'll tell you what," they say. "I'll give you a moment to collect your thoughts, calm down, whatever you need while I finish filling this all up with water. Then, we can go to my castle and chill a little bit, alright? You look very tired, Ranboo."

Ranboo  _ feels  _ tired. His bones ache, and his heart cries out for this house, for the disks, for the lives lost and the memories ruined by betrayal. It cries for simpler times he never got to have. Eret gives him a few steady pats on his shoulders, smiling sadly before getting back to work. Ranboo can't help but notice how they work faster, more efficiently, pushing along the kelp instead of letting it flow gently by.

Soon, all too soon for Ranboo, curled up and clutching at the cape around his shoulders, Eret is finished. They dry off and slip back on their boots, making their way to Ranboo. They help him up, telling him to keep the cape on for as long as he'd like. Together, they walk side by side to Eret's castle, Ranboo hunched forward and tail dragging across the ground.

Eret sits him down and offers him a warm drink, something strangely parental in the way they check Ranboo's face and run their fingers over his cheekbones. He resists the urge to lean into the touch, but Eret seems to see the way he needs it anyway. Eret sighs, standing behind Ranboo as he sits and sips on his drink, running gentle fingers through his hair. Small rumbles bubble in Ranboo's throat as he closes his eyes, finally letting himself lean into the small affections.

"I was worried about you..." Eret starts softly, almost unsure of their words. "because I know how people here treat those they deem traitors."

Suddenly, Ranboo remembers the way Eret was never welcome in New L'manberg. The way Tommy would snarl and be quick with his insults. He Ghostbur would always express his hatred whenever Eret was mentioned. Eret was so calm, so collected when these things happened; Ranboo never thought it bothered them, but... The way their hands quivered slightly and caught on a tangle spewed stories of otherwise.

"Try as we may to redeem ourselves," Eret says, "the people of L'manberg will always choose cruelty.

"I wanted to make sure you were doing okay, but then you disappeared. And then I found out you were living with Phil and Techno, and I'm definitely not welcome there, no matter how kind Phil is. We never got a chance to chat. I regret that."

Ranboo briefly wonders if there was a potion in his drink because he feels so calm, so at peace here behind these walls. His eyes are drawn to the ever-changing colors of the beacons, dancing beautifully in the castle windows.

"Do you want what I tell everyone else, or what's actually the truth?" Ranboo asks, and his heart prays that for just once,  _ please understand _ .

"The truth, please," Eret says. Their fingers slow to a stop, and Ranboo takes a deep breath.

"Things have been going horribly." Better start where it's all at, Ranboo figures. "I've been having blackouts that I can't remember, and my head has been telling me things, and I don't even know if they're true or not.  _ I  _ blew up the community house, and  _ I _ have a disk."

Eret's fingers tense, but only just for a moment. Ranboo could barely feel it. "Do you have regrets?" They ask.

"All of it," Ranboo says, and his voice  _ breaks _ . This was so dumb, Eret is directly connected to Dream, they're the last person he should be telling about this, but he just  _ needs  _ somebody to understand.

"All right," Eret says, and their fingers start back up in Ranboo's hair. "We can deal with this. The community house is almost finished being rebuilt, so you won't need to worry about that for much longer."

"Wh... what?"

"Whatever you need to do with the disk, I'll help. Whatever you need," Eret says. There's a firmness to their voice that leaves no room for argument—the firmness of a king.

Ranboo nods, and Eret's fingers bump against his horn. "Okay... okay, alright. I j-I don't know what to do. I don't know what's real anymore, and I-nobody  _ understands _ ."

Ranboo feels tears well up, spilling from his eyes and burning his cheeks. For once, hands much gentler than his own, unclawed and warm, wipe them away.

"That's alright," Eret says. "These are uncertain times. Those are heavy burdens to carry, Ranboo. Please lean on me when you need it."

Ranboo nods again, shakily. "I think I need it, Eret."

Eret hums, carding their fingers through Ranboo's hair until every tangle is combed out, and it curls around his horn gently. "Why don't you stay the night at my castle? We can talk again when you're well-rested and feeling better."

Ranboo quietly agrees, and that night he sleeps surrounded by sturdy walls. It's warm, and the bed is soft, a stark contrast to the nights he spends in his shack. Eret's promises to help echo in Ranboo's mind, but so do what they said about being traitors. Choosing cruelty, desire best intentions. Before he feels asleep, before he possibly forgets, Ranboo scribbles down a passage about Eret. About the disks and the community house. His eyes don't linger on the first page. There is no use tonight.

That night, the first in a long time, Ranboo falls asleep feeling safe, warm, and protected.

**Author's Note:**

> i am once again begging for people to yell their thoughts at me


End file.
